This invention relates to an improved joining means and method for joining metal members.
In this specification the term metal member is intended to relate to either a sheet, strip or pipe of metal.
It has become common for metal members such as pipelines conveying abrasive substances to be lined inside with a plastics material which is resistant to abrasion and anti-corrosion effects. Such pipelines are typically assembled by connecting individual pipes by bolting flanged ends of the pipes together. This method of construction is very expensive. A better method of construction is to weld the pipes together. However this is not normally attempted because the plastics material lining the pipes is sensitive to heat damage when welding occurs near it. This invention consists in a joining means intended to go some way towards overcoming this difficulty.